Metal tube reconditioning machine



April 14, 1970 c. v. JONES, 'SR 3, 0

METAL TUBE 'RECONDITIONING MACHINE Filed Jan. 29, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 H G INVENTOR COY v. JONES ,SR.

" mmm ATTORNEY April 14, 1970 c. v. JONES, SR 3,505,848

METAL TUBE RECONDITIONING MACHINE Filed Jan. 29, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG I2 C. V. JONES, SR

METAL TUBE RECONDITIONING MACHINE A ril 14, 1 970 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 29, 1968 April 14, 1970 c. v. JONES, SR

METAL TUBE RECONDI'I'IONING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 29, 1968 United States Patent O 3,505,848 METAL TUBE RECONDITIONING MACHINE Coy V. Jones, Sr., Greer, S.C., assignor to Gaston County Dyeing Machine Company, Stanley, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed Jan. 29, 1968, Ser. No. 701,214 Int. Cl. B21d 15/00 US. Cl. 72-110 15 Claims I ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A machine which automatically delivers a damaged metal tube from a group thereof and orients the tube for passage into engagement with an automatic straightening mechanism and delivers the tube to the straightening mechanism and then after the straightening operation removes the straightened tube to a discharge point and discharges it prior to automatically receiving the next tube to be straightened in a repetitive cycle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A definite need exists in the art for an economical, reliable and eflicient automatic machine for straightening metal dye tubes or cylinders upon which yarns are wound for subsequent dyeing and bleaching operations. The textile winders are high speed machines which may be seriously damaged if the metal tubes are out of round or otherwise bent or dented. If the tube is out of round, the entire yarn package as large as eight inches in diameter will also be out of round and unbalanced, causing serious vibration in the winding machine. Also subsequent operations utilizing the metal tubes require them to be round and smooth to a high degree.

The tubes in question are stainless steel tubes which usually cost approximately $1.50 each. They are much too expensive to be discarded and for economy purposes must be continually reconditioned for re-use. The usual practice is to carefully straighten the tubes manually with a hammer and arbor requiring an operator at about $1.65 per hour who can possibly straighen ten to fifteen tubes per hour to a reasonable degree of roundness. With the invention machine, as many as 1200 tubes per hour can be processed completely automatically and the processed tubes are usually twenty percent straighter and more round than new tubes. No machines are known in the prior art for successfully and economically accomplishing the aims of this invention and the invention fully satisfies the existing need in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A hopper containing damaged tubes delivers one tube at a time to a trough-like carrier which automatically carries the tube to a straightening arbor and places the tube thereover while coacting external straightening rollers begin to act on the tube in conjunction with the rotating arbor. After the straightening operation is completed, the tube is automatically withdrawn from the arbor by the carrier and discharged to a take-away chute or support by partial rotation of the trough like carrier. The carrier then automatically repositions itself to receive the next tube to be procesed in a like manner. If a given tube is so badly out of round that a single straightening treatment is in- Patented Apr. 14, 1970 "ice sufficient to recondition it, as when the particular tube will not pass entirely onto the arbor, then the machine has the ability automatically to recycle the same damaged tube without discharging it and to carry it back onto the arbor the required number of times until it is adequately straightened, before discharge and before receiving the next tube for reconditioning.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a tube reconditioning machine embodying the invention, with parts broken away and parts in section;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken on line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a similar cross sectional view taken on line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a similar section taken on line 44 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is an end elevational view of the machine viewed oppositely to the direction of the arrows on line 44 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation, partly in section, showing the relationship of the tube carrier to the delivery means and straightening arbor at the start of the operating cycle;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the structure shown in FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a view similar to FIGURE 6- showing the actual straightening of a tube after advancement of the carrier toward the arbor;

FIGURE 9 is another view similar to FIGURES 6 and 8 showing the retraction of the tube carrier after the straightening operation just prior to the actual removal of the tube from the arbor and the turning of the carrier to discharge the tube;

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary transverse vertical section through the carrier after turning of the carrier by a cam means to discharge the straightened tube;

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary end elevation showing the automatic actuation of the bent tube delivery means operating in response to turning of the tube carrier; and

FIGURE 12 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary vertical section through the straightening arbor and rolls illustrating the stretching action on the tube wall during the straightening operation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to thedrawings, in which like reference numerals designate like parts, the numeral 20 designates a rigid support frame for the machine, and a lower platform 21 thereof supports a main drive motor 22 from which all moving components are operated in properly timed sequence as will be apparent as the description proceeds. The motor 22, such as a one horsepower electric motor, includes an integral speed reducer 23 having an output shaft carrying a sprocket gear 24. A drive chain 25 connects the sprocket gear 24 through another sprocket gear 26 with a main horizontal rotary shaft 27 which turns continuously during the operating cycle of the machine. The main shaft 27 is suitably journaled at one end in a bearing 28 secured to the machine frame 20.

A much larger diameter sprocket gear 29 on the main rotary shaft 27 drives a small sprocket gear 30 on an overhead arbor drive shaft 31 through the medium of a chain 32. The arbor drive shaft 31 preferably revolves about eight times as fast as the main shaft 27 and may also turn continuously during the cycle of operation. The two shafts 27 and 31 are parallel. The arbor shaft 31 is journaled for rotation in sturdy bearings 33 secured to the machine frame.

A secondary horizontal rotary shaft 34 is provided intermediate the shafts 27 and 31 and is driven by the shaft 27 continuously but at a considerably slower speed than the shaft 27 by means of a chain 35 connected with a smaller sprocket gear 36 on the shaft 27 and a larger sprocket gear 37 on the secondary shaft 34. The shaft 34 also has supporting bearings 38 on the main frame 20, as shown.

Referring to FIGURE 4, shaft 34 carries a cam 39 which, upon rotation, engages a follower roller 40 on the lower end of a generally L-shaped rocker arm 41 which is opposed by a compressible spring 42. The rocker arm 41 has its upper generally horizontal portion pivoted at 43 to the top of machine frame 20 and the end of this portion of the rocker arm is pivotally connected at 44 with a yoke 45 carrying a pair of spaced parallel pressure rolls 46 which are directly above and parallel to the enlarged tube straightening arbor 47 on the arbor shaft 31. Pivoting of the arm 41 in the counter-clockwise direction, FIGURE 4, due to engagement by the cam 39, shifts the pressure rolls 46 downwardly toward engagement with the rotating arbor 47 for the tube straightening operation which will be described in detail.

The secondary shaft 34 also carries a sector gear 48 arranged so that when the cam 39 leaves the follower roller 40 and pressure rolls 46 are elevated away from the arbor, the sector gear begins to mesh with a gear 49 on a short shaft 50 journaled in bearings 51. The shaft 50 also carries a sprocket gear 52 connected therewith through an overload friction slip clutch 53, as shown in FIGURE 1.

The sprocket gear 52 is adapted, when driven by sector gear 48, to wind up a chain 54 which has its direction changed by idler sprockets 55 and 56 and extends upwardly in an inclined path at 57 and engages another idler sprocket gear 58 suitably journaled on the machine through a bracket means 59. After passing over the idler 58, the end of the chain 57 is attached to a dependent block 60 of a carrier 61 mounted to reciprocate horizontally and longitudinally toward and away from the arbor 47 on fixed parallel guide bars 62. As will be further described, the turning of the sprocket gear 52 by the action of sector gear 48 and the resulting winding up of chain 57 on the sprocket gear 52 will pull the carrier 61 to the right or axially toward the arbor 47 as viewed in FIGURE 1.

The block 60 of carrier 61 has its other side connected with a return pull chain 63 engaging around an idler sprocket 64 journaled on a suitable bracket 65. The chain 63 engages beneath another idler sprocket 66 near the bottom of the machine frame and then extends upwardly at 67 in FIGURE 2 and is attached at 68 to a winding up sprocket 69 journaled for rotation on a sturdy bracket 70 attached to the machine frame 20. The end of main shaft 27 and the shaft 71 of winding up sprocket 69 are coupled through a conventional electric clutch 72, activated at the required time to cause winding up of the chain 63 on the sprocket gear 69 and consequently pulling of the carrier 61 away from the arbor 47 and toward its position shown in FIGURE 1. The energizing of electric clutch 72 is achieved by means of an adjustable arc cam 73 on the secondary shaft 34 which is set to engage the actuator of a microswitch 74 and complete a circuit with the clutch at the same time that the cam 39 disengages the follower roller 40, elevating the pressure rolls 46. At this time, the operation of the switch 74 activates the clutch 72 and the sprocket gear 79 for Winding up the chain 63 and retracting the carrier 61 away from the arbor 47.

Associated with the reciprocatory carrier 61 is a rotary semi-cylindrical trough-like tube holder 75 which receives each tube 76 to be straightened in the machine from an overhead hopper 77, and then, in an automatic cycle delivers each tube toward and onto the arbor 47, FIG- URES 6 and 8, and after the straightening operation, retracts with the carrier 61 and pulls the tube 76 free of the rotating arbor. As will be explained, the tube holder 75 also automatically discharges each tube 76 only after the tube is completely and satisfactorily straightened by the coaction of the arbor 47 and pressure rolls 46. At this time, the tube holder 75 will receive the next tube 76 requiring straightening automatically. FIGURE 9 illustrates the return travel of the carrier 61 and holder 75.

Coacting with the tube holder 75 is a special cycling cam 78 which is fixedly held on the machine, through a suitable fixed bracket structure 79. As best shown in FIG- URE 11, the cam 78 lies close to one side of the carrier 61 and holder 75. The holder 75 has a disc head 80 rigidly secured to its outer end including a reduced extension 81 which lies between the disc 80 and an end upright extension 82 on carrier 61. A screw 83 in the extension 81 also forms a journal for the rotary holder 75 on the carrier extension 82. The remote end of the semi-cylindrical holder 75 rotatably'engages an arcuate ledge 84 of a second upright 85 of carrier 61. Thus, the tube holder 75 is rotatably supported at both ends relative to the reciprocating carrier 61. The extension or disc 80 carries a rigid stop pin 86 projecting therefrom to abut the extension 82 and thereby limit rotation of the holder 75 in one direction.

The tube holder 75 is biased to turn on its longitudinal axis in one direction by a torsion spring 87 surrounding reduced extension 81 and having an end 88 anchored to the non-rotary extension 82 and another end 89, FIG URE l1, anchored to the stop pin 86 which turns with the tube holder 75.

To effect turning of the tube holder 75 at the proper time to discharge the straightened tube 76 therefrom into a removal chute 90, as shown in FIGURE 10, the disc head 80 is equipped with a radial cam follower pin 91 which, upon retraction of the carrier 61 and holder 75, rides up onto a pivoted lead-in cam tip 92 whose downward movement by gravity is limited by a small pin stop 93. After passing over cam tip 92, the pin 91 engages the long contoured edge of cam 78 and causes the holder 75 to turn on its longitudinal axis against the force of spring 87, gradually storing energy in the spring. Upon reaching the top of cam 78, the holder 75 will have turned sufliciently to discharge the straightened tube 76, FIGURE 10. The pin 91 will now fall off the top of the cam and pass down adjacent the vertical edge 94 of the cam in a quick movement under influence of the spring 87. This causes the rotary holder 75 to return to its nor mal position with its open top facing upwardly for receiving the next tube 76 from the overhead hopper 77 as in FIGURE 1. On the next forward movement of the carrier 61 with holder 75 toward the arbor 47 under influence of pulling chain 57, the pin 91 will simply pass beneath the bottom of the cam 78 and will also pass beneath the pivoted tip 92, FIGURES 6 and 8, the tip 92 being simply lifted away from the pin 93 and then dropping back against this pin after the passage of the folower pin 91 beyond the tip.

Also in connection with the automatic return of the holder 75 to its position for receiving the next tube 76 from the hopper 77, as the pin 91 drops off of the top of stationary cam 78, FIGURE 11, it will contact an arm 95 on a rocker shaft 96 which is journaled for rotation on support arms 97 carried by bracket structure 79. The rocker shaft 96 carries a pivoted false bottom or trap door 98 for the bottom of tube hopper 77. The pin 91, while moving downwardly under the force of spring 87, in effect opens the bottom door 98 of the hopper so that the next tube 76 therein may fall into the trough-like holder 75 which will now be positioned to receive it. A counterweight 99 on the rocker shaft 96 causes the trap door 98 to close automatically as soon as the pin 91 disengages the arm 95 and therefore no further tubes 76 can drop from the hopper 77.

As shown, a fixed abutment element 100 in the bottom of holder 75 engages the end of each tube 76 to push the same onto the arbor 47 and during the return travel of the carrier 61, FIGURE 9, a shoulder 101 on the upright 85 engages the tube 76 to remove it axially from the rotating arbor.

FIGURE 12 illustrates the coaction between arbor 47 and pressure rolls 46 for straightening tube 76 and retuming the tube to a true round condition. The arbor 47 as shown is somewhat smaller in diameter than the tube inside diameter and the smaller pressure rolls 46 are separated substantially. Therefore, the wall of the tube 76 is actually stretched in between the rolls 46 at all points around its circumference and this action effectively removes irregularities from the tubing wall and causes the tube to return to a round condition when the pressure of the rolls 46 is released.

SUMMARY OF OPERATION The motor 22 drives main shaft 27, arbor 47 and secondary shaft 34 continuously during the complete cycle of operation. FIGURES 1-4, inclusive, show the relative positions of the machine parts at the start of an operating cycle. The carrier 61 is in a retracted position away from rotating arbor 47 and beneath the 'hopper 77 which holds the damaged tubes 76. The cam 39 is about to engage the follower roller 40 and the sector gear 48 is moving toward engagement with the gear 49. A single tube 76 'has just been delivered into the holder 75 at the end of the next preceding cycle and FIGURE 6 shows the position of the tube and holder 75 at the start of a new cycle.

Continued operation of the machine will bring the sector gear 48 into driving engagement with the gear 49, thus beginning to wind up chain 54 on sprocket gear 52. This begins to move the carrier 61 toward rotating arbor 47 and abutment 100 'will engage the adjacent end of tube 76 and begin to push it onto the arbor. The pin 91 is held downwardly by spring 87 and may pass under the lower side of cam 78 and under the pivoted cam tip 92, FIGURES 6 and 8.

Simultaneously, the cam 39 acting on follower roller 40 and pivoted arm 41 causes pressure rolls 46 to move against the tube 76 in the manner shown and described in FIGURE 12 and also depicted in FIGURE 8. This condition is maintained around the full arc of the cam 39 or for about 120 degrees of rotation of the shaft 34. When the condition of the tube 76 is such that the entire tube may be engaged over the arbor 47 and straightened,

and when the straightening cycle is complete, the cam 39 will 'have disengaged the follower roller 40 and the pressure rolls 46 will have been lifted by spring '42. Also, the sector gear 48 will have completed its driving engagement with the gear 49 and the chain 57 will no longer be pulling the carrier 61 forwardly. However, at this time, the switch operating cam 73 will have turned sufiiciently to engage switch actuator 74, FIGURE 2, and the microswitch will complete a circuit energizing electric clutch 72 so that rotation of main shaft 27 will be transmitted through the clutch to shaft 71 and sprocket gear 79. This causes immediately winding up of chain 67 and pulling of the carrier 61 rearwardly by chain 63 away from arbor 47'. As this action takes place, FIGURE 9, shoulder 101 will engage the tube '76 and remove the tube from the arbor along with its holder 75.

The pin 91 will now pass on top of the tip 92 and up along the contoured edge of cam 78 and the holder 75 during retraction will begin to revolve on its axis toward the discharge position of FIGURE 10 and this causes the spring 87 to wind up and store energy. When full retraction of the carrier 61 is achieved, FIGURES 1 and 6, the pin 91 will have reached the top of the cam 78 and the straightened tube 76 will be discharged cleanly from its holder 75 as shown in FIGURE 10. Simultaneously,,the pin 91 will drop abruptly from the top of the cam and return to its position of FIGURE 6 where the stop element 86 will arrest its movement by engaging the extension 82. In returning to this position, the pin 91 will open the false bottom 98 of the hopper by engaging the element as previously described, and the next tube to be straightened willfall into the holder 75 and the parts of the machine are now returned to their positions shown in FIGURES 1-4 for the beginning of a new operating cycle.

The machine has another important operating feature. If a tube is so badly damaged that it cannot pass fully onto the arbor 47 and be straightened in a single cycle of operation, it will enter upon the arbor to the extent possible and the straightening operation will commence on that portion of the tube which engages the arbor. However, the friction clutch 53 will slip rather than apply too much force to the bent tube and the carrier 61 will not advance toward the arbor beyond a certain point controlled by the overload slip clutch 53. However, the cam 39 and the sector gear 48 will complete their cycles in the described manner and when the partial straightening of the tube 76 is accomplished, the carrier 61 will be retracted toward its initial position. However, in this situation, pin 91 will not have passed fully under and beyond the tip 92 and will have remained in a position such as in FIGURE 8 when the retraction of the carrier 61 begins. Therefore, the pin will simply retract along the bottom of the cam 78 and there willbe no turning of the holder 75 and no discharging of the tube 76 and no entry of a new tube into the holder. As the cycling of the machine continues, the same tube 76 will be advanced forwardly onto the arbor 47 for another straightening operation and, if necessary, the straightening cycle will be repeated, automatically, several additional times until the entire length of the tube 76 can engage over the arbor for a straightening cycle. Only then will the pin 91 have passed forwardly of the cam tip 92 and only then on the retracting of the carrier 61 will the pin 91 move up the cam 78 as in FIGURE 9 to accomplish the discharge of the tube 76 and the reception of another tube into the holder 75 in the described manner.

Additionally, in connection with the operating cycle of the machine, the following should be understood. The pressure rolls 46 become active under the influence of cam 39 almost immediately after the beginning of the cycle and remain active until the carrier 61 starts on its reverse movement due to the pull of chain 63 driven through the electric clutch 72 and associated elements. The carrier 61 begins its forward movement toward the arbor 47 under the pull of chain 57 at the start of the operating cycle and continues to move forwardly until the sector gear 48 traverses the gear 49 or until the clutch 53 slips. The forward movement of the carrier 61 will continue after the pressure rolls 46 have become active, but there will be a quite long dwell in the movement of the carrier while the rolling operation is taking place and then the carrier will start on its return travel as the cam 73 reaches the microswitch 74 and energizes the electric clutch. While the carrier is returning, the pressure rolls 46 will be lifted or inactive under control of spring 42. The return movement of carrier 61 will continue until the arc of cam 73 disengages microswitch actuator 74. The tube 76 will be removed from the arbor 47 during the return travel of the carrier.

It may thus be seen that not only is the machine completely automatic for the rapid processing of tubes, but is capable of determining that a given tube is not fully straightened and requires further processing before ejection, without the need for any operator to touch the machine. The machine is simple, sturdy and reliable in operation. Only a few key adjustments are needed and, once set, these adjustments need not be changed for a long period of time.

It is believed that the advantages and economies present in the machine will now be fully apparent to those skilled 7 in the art without the necessity for any further description herein.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. A machine for straightening damaged tubes comprising a rotating tube straightening arbor over which damaged tubes are individually placed for a straightening operation, pressure roll means mounted near the arbor and shiftable toward and from the rotating arbor for applying straightening pressure to a tube on the arbor, a tube holder for a single tube to be straightened and being movable substantially axially of the arbor toward and away from the arbor and carrying each tube onto the arbor and subsequently removing it therefrom after the tube straightening operation, and power means operating the arbor, pressure roll means and tube holder in timed relation whereby the pressure roll means is rendered active when the tube is on the arbor and is rendered inactive when the tube is being removed from the arbor, said tube holder having a dwell period while the tube is on the arbor.

2. A a machine for straightening damaged tubes as defined by claim 1, and wherein said rotating arbor has a diameter somewhat smaller than the internal diameter of the damaged tube, said pressure roll means comprises a pair of spaced parallel rolls of considerably smaller diameter than the arbor and parallel to the axis of the arbor, and a movable carrier for the pressure rolls shiftable toward and away from one side of the arbor.

3. A machine for straightening damaged tubes as defined by claim 1, and wherein the tube holder comprises a carrier, power means connected with the carrier to shift it longitudinally toward and away from the arbor, a trough-like member on the carrier supporting the tube therein, said member engaging the carrier rotatably, and a cam positioned near the carrier and trough-like member and engaging a part of the trough-like member when the carrier is retracted from the arbor and then turning the trough-like member on its longitudinal axis to discharge the straightened tube therefrom.

4. A machine for straightening damaged tubes as defined by claim 3, and a spring connected with the troughlike member to return it to a substantially upright position after the discharge of said tube.

5. A machine for straightening damaged tubes as defined by claim 1, and wherein the power means comprises a single drive motor, a main rotary shaft driven continuously by the motor, a secondary shaft geared to the main shaft and rotating simultaneously therewith at a slower speed than the main shaft, an arbor shaft carrying the arbor and geared to the main shaft and rotating simultaneously therewith at a greater speed than the main shaft, cam means on the secondary shaft operating the pressure roll means and additional means on the secondary shaft controlling shifting of the tube holder in opposite directions with respect to said arbor.

6. A machine for straightening damaged tubes as defined by claim 5, and wherein said additional means on the secondary shaft comprises a sector gear and a cam spaced circumferentially of the sector gear around the axis of the secondary shaft, gearing engaged by the sector gear to drive the tube holder toward the arbor, and electrical means engaged by said cam on the secondary shaft and driving the tube holder away from the arbor.

7. A machine for straightening damaged tubes as defined by claim 1, and wherein said tube holder comprises a rotary trough-like member, a carrier for the troughlike member, means to move the carrier toward and from the arbor axially of the arbor, resilient means intercon necting the carrier and trough-like member and biasing the trough-like member to a position where its open top faces upwardly, a cam positioned near one side of the carrier and trough-like member and having a pivoted cam tip, said cam having a sloping edge, an abrupt vertical edge and a substantially horizontal bottom, and a projection on the trough-like member engageable with said tip and sloping edge, whereby during movement of the carrier away from the arbor said projection rides above the tip and along the sloping edge to gradually revolve the trough-like member until its open top is at least partly inverted for discharging a tube from the trough-like member, said projection then dropping at the abrupt vertical edge under the force of the resilient means and being positioned below said horizontal bottom of the cam for subsequent passage thereunder and under the pivoted cam tip.

8. A machine for straightening damaged tubes as defined by claim 7, a delivery means for tubes above the tube holder when the latter is retracted from the arbor, and a closure device on the delivery means operated by said projection when the projection drops at said abrupt vertical edge.

9. A machine for straightening damaged tubes as defined by claim 8, wherein the delivery means is a hopper for a stack of tubes and the closure device is a pivoted counterweighted false bottom on the hopper including an extension in the path of movement of the projection, said false bottom returning automatically to a hopper closing position by gravity after the release of one tube therefrom.

10. A machine for straightening damaged tubes as de fined by claim 7, and an abutment in the bottom of the trough-like member engageable with one end of a tube therein, and a second abutment on the carrier for the opposite end of a tube in the trough-like member and spaced from the first-named abutment a distance greater than the length of the tube.

11. A machine for straightening tubes comprising a substantially cylindrical arbor, means to rotate the arbor with the axis of the arbor substantially horizontally disposed, pressure roll means disposed near the rotating arbor and means to shift the pressure roll means toward and from the arbor so that a straightening operation may be performed on a tube by the arbor and pressure roll means, a carrier mounted for movement longitudinally of the arbor toward and away from the arbor and into overlapping relation therewith, means to shift the carrier in opposite directions, a rotary holder for an individual tube on the carrier, resilient means biasing the holder into one rotated position, coacting cam means on the machine and said holder causing turning of the holder in opposition to the resilient means and turning the holder to an individual tube discharging position, the holder then returning automatically to its initial position under influence of the resilient means, a delivery means for tubes arranged near the holder and the return rotation of the holder by the resilient means causing the delivery means to place one tube in the holder 12. A machine for straightening tubes as defined by claim 11, and wherein said rotary holder is a substantially semi-cylindrical trough-like holder whose open side is held upwardly facing normally by the resilient means, said cam means causing the open side of the rotary holder to invert substantially for discharging the tube therefrom, the return of the holder by the resilient means to its initial position positioning the open side of the holder to receive another tube from the delivery means.

13. A machine for straightening tubes as defined by claim 11, a coacting cam means comprises a radially projecting pin on the rotary holder, and a stationary cam in the path of travel of the pin.

14. A machine for straightening tubes as defined by claim 13, wherein the stationary cam includes a longitudinal edge which is inclined, a substantially vertical end remote from the arbor and a substantially level bottom, said pin engaging the inclined edge and then dropping 9 10 downwardly at said end and returning along said bottom FOREIGN PATENTS toward the arbor.

15. A machine for straightening tubes as defined by 712382 7/1954 Great Bntam' claim 14, and a pivoted tip on the end of the cam nearest the arbor near the lower end of the inclined edge, and 5 CHARLES LANDAM, Pflmafy Examiner a stop element for said tip on the cam limiting downward movement of the tip on its pivot. KEENAN Asslstant Exammer References Cited US Cl. UNITED STATES PATENTS 0 72 250 252 370 1,930,562 10/1933 Krueger 113-120 

